Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis: “Benefit-Cost Analysis for Beginners” workshop

From the inbox: 

Location: Via Zoom
Please note: All workshops will be recorded. Registrants will have access to the recordings.

Dates and Times: 

April 28, 2023 – Online
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET 
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET 

This short course provides an introduction for “beginners” who have not previously had formal instruction in benefit‐cost analysis. It is designed to help those who encounter benefit‐cost analysis to better understand its purpose and methods as well as those who are curious about how it might be useful in their work. Although some prior exposure to economics would be helpful, the workshop is designed to be accessible to a general audience. Upon completion of the workshop, attendees should have a clear understanding of the purpose, underlying concepts, strengths, and weaknesses of benefit‐cost analysis.

The workshop will compare benefit‐cost analysis to other analytical approaches commonly employed by policy analysts to put it into perspective. It will also introduce and explain a number of key benefit‐cost analysis concepts including standing (whose costs and benefits count), incremental costs and benefits (clear alternatives to current policy), opportunity cost (what we give up to do the alternative), willingness to pay (how much people value the impacts of the alternative), “shadow prices” (monetizing impacts), discounting (taking account of the timing of costs and benefits), and sensitivity analysis (taking account of uncertainty). Several examples of benefit‐cost analyses will be discussed to provide illustrations of concepts and facilitate discussion among attendees.

For more information and to register: https://www.benefitcostanalysis.org/workshops